You’re sitting in class, bored out of your mind by your lecturing teacher, waiting for it to be lunchtime. At this point, you are no longer listening and just want to leave. This is completely unproductive class time, as you are learning nothing. As the clock reaches 11:55 a.m., your teacher hands out a three-page packet due next class as homework.
While this situation might seem dire, there is hope for improvement! Instead of experiencing horrible boredom as their teacher lectures, Menlo students can absorb the material as homework through pre-recorded videos prior to coming to class. This leaves class time for hands-on activities, collaboration and one-on-one guidance through the flipped classroom.
This teaching method is promising. It shifts learning into a new gear by transforming how class time is used and limiting students’ boredom. A flipped classroom empowers students to take control of their education, fosters collaborative learning and maximizes teacher-student interaction, making it a progressive approach for high schools such as Menlo.
The flipped classroom is not a passing trend, as it was first popularized in the early 2000s by two high school chemistry teachers in Colorado. There’s a good reason why this is not just a fad! They noticed that many of their students struggled to keep up with in-class lectures, especially when they had to miss school for sports or other activities. By moving the “lecture” component out of the classroom, class time became far more productive, allowing students to ask questions, collaborate and engage in hands-on experiments.
Menlo biology teacher Tanya Buxton uses the flipped classroom and has seen numerous benefits. “I make my lecture for the unit as a video. That way students can watch it on their own time and stop and pause it if needed,” she said. “In class, I then have time to answer students’ questions and we practice with the material and do labs that use the content knowledge from the lecture.”
Given this method’s history and proven advantages, Menlo students could benefit from adopting flipped classrooms: teachers wouldn’t have to spend precious classroom time teaching topics from scratch. Instead, they can focus on enhancing student knowledge, answering questions and being a resource for learning.
Some argue that the flipped classroom requires students to do more work at home, such as watching many long videos or solving laborious problem sets. However, physics teacher Deb Jensen uses the flipped classroom model and believes in its positive merits. Jensen finds her students more prepared for class and ready with many questions that enhance their learning. Through her years of using the flipped classroom, Jensen has found she has more one-on-one time with her students and has seen improved peer collaboration. “It makes the students think, and they learn the material better,” she said.
The flipped classroom model represents a transformative opportunity for Menlo students to take charge of their learning, engage more deeply in class, and collaborate with their peers. While at first this approach may require some effort, the long-term benefits — such as increased understanding of material and one-on-one interactions between students and teachers — make it a worthwhile investment. By further embracing the flipped classroom, Menlo can foster a more engaging and productive learning environment, ensuring that students not only retain information but also develop good study habits. It’s time to flip the classroom from traditional teaching and give students the interactive and hands-on education that they need.
